Countertop appliance having floating mounting assembly to accommodate expansion and contraction of cooking surface

Abstract

A countertop appliance and related methods of fabrication using a floating mounting assembly to connect a cooking surface to a mounting frame. The floating mounting assembly allows the cooking surface to expand and contract in response to changing temperature without translating these dimensional changes to the mounting frame and negatively impacting the integrity or appearance of the countertop appliance. The floating mounting assembly can include a grommet assembly that connects to elongated apertures defined in the mounting frame. As the cooking surface expands and contracts, the grommet assembly can slide within the elongated aperture. Through the use of the elongated aperture, dimensional changes in the cooking surface are not directly translated to the mounting frame.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A countertop appliance, comprising:
 a cooking surface formed of a heat conductive material; 
 a mounting frame forming a rectangular perimeter around the cooking surface, the mounting frame including elongated mounting apertures located at each corner of the rectangular perimeter; 
 wherein each elongated mounting aperture defines an elongated opening defining an opening axis, the opening axis defining a mounting angle relative to a front wall and a rear wall of the mounting frame, wherein the mounting angle is neither parallel nor perpendicular to an axis defined by the front wall or the rear wall; and 
 a floating mount assembly corresponding to each elongated mounting aperture, and adapted to engage the corresponding elongated mounting aperture to operably couple the cooking surface to the mounting frame, whereby the heat conductive material of the cooking surface is allowed to expand and contract in response to temperature changes without translating said expansion and contraction to the mounting frame. 
 
     
     
       2. The countertop appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the mounting angle is between a range of about 20° to about 70° relative to the axis defined by the front wall or the rear wall. 
     
     
       3. The countertop appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the floating mount assembly comprises a grommet mount assembly. 
     
     
       4. The countertop appliance of  claim 3 , wherein the cooking surface defines a female connector on a bottom surface of the cooking surface and wherein the grommet mounting assembly is rotatably coupled to the female connector. 
     
     
       5. The countertop appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the cooking surface defines a griddle or a skillet. 
     
     
       6. A method for accommodating expansion of a cooking surface in a countertop appliance, comprising:
 coupling a cooking surface with a floating mount assembly to a mounting frame forming a rectangular perimeter comprising elongated mounting apertures located at each corner of the rectangular perimeter wherein each elongated mounting aperture defines an elongated opening defining an opening axis, the opening axis defining a mounting angle relative to a front wall and a rear wall of the mounting frame, wherein the mounting angle is neither parallel nor perpendicular to an axis defined by the front wall or the rear wall; and 
 sliding the floating mount within the elongated aperture defined in the mounting frame such that the floating mount travels along a path that is neither parallel nor perpendicular to an axis defined by the front wall or the rear wall in response to expansion and contraction of the cooking surface due to temperature changes on the cooking surface. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the mounting angle is between a range of about 20° to about 70° relative to a front wall or a rear wall. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the floating mount assembly comprises a grommet mount assembly. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , wherein the cooking surface defines a female connector on a bottom surface of the cooking surf ace and wherein the step of coupling the cooking surface to the mounting frame further comprises:
 rotatably coupling the grommet mounting assembly to the female connector. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the step of coupling the cooking surface to the mounting frame defines a griddle or a skillet. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the step of coupling the cooking surface to the mounting frame further comprises:
 defining a gap between the cooking surface and the mounting frame.